11 Cared For Characters In Gaming

Characters. Characters everywhere. Be it in movies, books, real life and yes, gaming; you’ll always find some interesting characters. Every now and again, you’ll find yourself caring for a specific person or character. Be it love, compassion or mutual respect; there will be an established feeling. Not everyone experiences everything the same way, so it’s not safe to say that everyone will feel the same way or will like the same people. While some games offer a wide variety of senseless violence; the other side of the scale will hopefully balance it out with interesting narratives and memorable characters. Let’s embark on this journey and see what characters caused this typing individual some memorable experiences.

Alan Wake from, well… Alan Wake

Remedy provided us with a rather strange and interesting experience back in 2010. This psychological action thriller made me question my character’s sanity and true motive. Going on a much needed vacation with his wife; Alan wake finds himself, not long after his arrival, in a story of his own. He wrote the story but can’t recall doing so. To make matters worse, his wife disappears and he finds himself behind the steering wheel of a crashed car, one week after his wife’s disappearance. He cannot recall anything of the past week. As if matters aren’t bad enough, he’s being hunted at night by the Taken. The Taken are a supposedly endless group of bloodthirsty foes protected by a dark presence. Sure, this guy uses guns, but his most valuable ally during the nightmarish sequences is light itself. Nothing is as it seems and with this narrating character telling the story as he travels, searching for answers, you’ll begin to care for him. Wait until you see what’s really going on.

Eleanor Lamb from BioShock 2

Yes, I know. Another BioShock entry sneaks itself into one of my features. While not everyone was satisfied with BioShock 2, I was. I adored the fact that you played with one of the big daddies and kicked several types of ass with him. You take on the role of Subject Delta. Bonded with a single Little Sister. Each other’s lives depending on the other, you can’t help but feel a connection. Perhaps not so with all the players, but hopefully I’m not the only one. To make things even more interesting, your Little Sister, Eleanor Lamb is the antagonist’s daughter. How simple and uncomplicated life is?

Ezio Auditore da Firenze from Assassin’s Creed

After playing three Assassin’s Creed titles as Ezio, I can’t help feeling fond of the guy. Having witnessed so many situations the character went through and the different emotions he felt, it’s not easy for me walking away and saying: “Meh”. Playing through the character’s life since he was 17 years old, to an elderly master assassin. Don’t let him being of old age fool you, he can kick all types of ass. Going through romances, sadness, sneaking and stabbing, I can say without any doubt whatsoever, I’m glad to have gone through the character’s happenings. Plus: Stabbing a bunch of corrupt people also helps.

War from Darksiders

You play as War. One of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Teeny, tiny little problem: You were sent out before you were supposed to. You are being framed for starting the apocalypse at a rather inappropriate time. He seeks answers alongside his revenge upon the forces that wronged him. While War may not be your fluffy and cuddly little pal, you can still have a sense of compassion towards him. More like a warrior’s honour. I really enjoyed my journey with him and the search for answers. Darksiders 2 cannot come soon enough.

Elika from Prince of Persia (2008)

While Prince of Persia from 2008 did not appeal to every Price of Persia fan out there, it did a lot of things right. But that’s only my opinion. After having lost his camel in the middle of the desert, our Prince finds himself in a whole other world containing an angry and dark god. Having to rid the world of darkness and corruption, accompanied by the other star of the show, Elika. As the story progresses you’ll learn more about her and begin to feel a bond. If not, then definitely between her and the Prince. Make sure you stay tuned until after the credits, being able to change the ending. It’s goosebump-inspiring and filled with pretty visuals to boot.

Thane Krios from Mass Effect 2

In a galaxy filled to the brim with all types of different races, you’re bound to find at least one that will sink its emotional hooks into you. Either that, or you’ll be in love with pretty much every race out there. Mass Effect teems with lots and lots of back story of each and every aspect. I’m just going to skip right to one of my favorite characters. Thane Krios. He looks cool. He is cool. He’s super good when it comes to assassinations and pretty much every battle. He will continue to keep the “Drell” name high. His story is a very emotional one and are guaranteed to lure you in.

Garrus from Mass Effect

Oh, this is going to hurt. “Look at the Mass Effect fanboy for adding more than one Mass Effect character.” If I got my wish, I would have added five Mass Effect characters. All bitching aside, Garrus is awesome. He’s deadly, interesting, loyal and has a very entrancing voice. If you’re a fan of the series, I’m pretty sure you’ll agree with me in saying that he is one to always accompany you. If you want one character to grow on you, take this guy with you on all your missions.

Gordon Freeman from Half-Life

How can I get attached to a silent protagonist? I’m not entirely sure. Primarily I think it’s because I admire the man for all he goes through and doesn’t even complain once. Whether you’re battling a bunch of soldiers or bloodthirsty alien lifeforms, he will remain calm and deal with it. I choose to believe that. It’s either the aforementioned idea or he’s screaming like a little girl on the inside? (I feel that I need to elaborate on the little girl topic. Imagine the following scenario: Along comes a happy little girl, frolicking through a field of flowers. She hums one of her favorite rhymes. She realizes that not everything is as it should be. It’s starting to look like dusk is approaching. It can’t be. It’s noon. When she looks up, she witnesses a spider so large it eclipses the whole town’s source of sunlight. She lets out a scream so deafening, everyone’s ears begin to melt.) That’s pretty much how I would sound after having to live through the situations this man has lived through.

Isaac Clarke from Dead Space 1 and 2

I wonder if Visceral Games go to their meetings with a primary train of thought about how to make their beloved protagonist’s day even more crappier? I do think that’s the general case with their brainstorming sessions. I’m not complaining. I love the Dead Space idea and story behind it. In the original Dead Space, you took control of a space engineer wanting to repair a planet-cracking ship that went silent. His girlfriend is on board and he’s holding his breath for what he is going to find. Let’s just say that Isaac’s luck isn’t very mountainous. He doesn’t speak in the first game, but believe me when I’m telling you; you’ll know when he get’s hurt. You’ll care for this character as his safety. In the sequel, he is plagued with psychological issues and a Necromorph onslaught as well. I highly recommend this game, but not for the weak of heart.

Max Payne from Max Payne 3

This one is going to hurt as well. I did not play the first two Max Payne games and I know that it’s a cardinal sin for not doing so. I’m one of the guys that enjoyed the crap out of the third game. Single-Player and multiplayer. The whole narration and style the game is presented in made me care about the character and had me wanting to help him. His narration alone made me all giddy and lively. My recommendation: play it, but look at it like this: Max Payne: Rockstar Edition. Erase the “3”. That’s one of the many reasons that made some people unhappy.

John Marston from Red Dead Redemption

I hope that you all will agree, that I saved the best for last. To me, this is a one of a kind character. I don’t think you’ll find another one as interesting and complex as this guy right here. Yes, he’s a killer, but he’s also a character that one can relate to. He feels like a real human being, not just a pixelated portrayal of one. John Marston is out to find one of his former gang-members and not just because he would like to, but because he has to. The local pinkertons want him to retrieve or kill this man or he will not see his family again. I would like to elaborate more, but I think it’s best you play this game for yourself and be sure to finish it. You’ll be witnessing one of the most striking endings in any videogame to date.

John Marston was plainly one of the most human characters I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing as, caught up in something he didn’t want to and that he had left behind. Fantastic game and storyline.

In truth I prefered Altair’s character arc over Ezio. Ezio always feels like a cocky shithead over all 3 games he’s in, while Altair actually develops as a character and a person within the first game. The one Ezio storyline that really captivated me was the Cristina side missions in AC Brotherhood, showed him actually going through some development.

http://www.facebook.com/nanonyous Theo Lubbe

He’s Italian. It’s not being cocky, it’s being Italian. If anything, I found Altair infinitely more annoying because he was genuinely arrogant right up till the end.

CataclysmicDawn

The difference is, Altair showed change in 1 game, Ezio was always just a typical douchebag with knives over 3. That’s just my opinion.

Also, your nationality doesn’t give you the right to be a douchebag. The USA is proof.

http://www.facebook.com/nanonyous Theo Lubbe

@CataclysmicDawn:disqus Liked your post when I meant to reply. Anyway; wasn’t implying they have a ‘right’ to be a douchebag, just that that’s more or less how many Italian men simply are – it’s simply not apparent since they aren’t usually speaking, you know, English.

And I’m pretty sure that aside from being confuzzled by all the amazeballs alien tech at the end of AC1, Altair was pretty much still arrogant right through to the end. Either that or the voice actor just did a really shitty job of the voice acting (which he really did – if he was going for an emotionless character, he failed – if he was trying to convey emotion, he still failed).

http://egamer.co.za/ Azhar Amien

I like the list, but I feel Max Payne from Max Payne 3, without playing the first two, is extremely blasphemous :P And, Isaac Clarke was ruined in Dead Space 2. He was far more interesting in Dead Space where he didn’t speak, and I’m not really joking.

Otherwise cool list :D I also agree with CataclysmicDawn, Altair’s character had far more depth and character development than Ezio, in fact he’s one of my favourite developed characters in gaming.

CataclysmicDawn

I wish they had made Revelations a simultaneous game. A game that explored both Ezio’s and Altair’s adventures and not just brief forays into Altairs final days. A further development on Altair could have made it a truly excellent game, but it was just Ezio full of kak again.

http://egamer.co.za/ Azhar Amien

I completely agree. Although if I have to be honest, I felt Revelations didn’t do Altair’s character justice at all. I hated the change in voice actor for one, and I was really confused at how humble they made Altair out to be when he was young, but they never went on to show how he became the arrogant asshole in Assassin’s Creed 1. Yes, you can assume he just grew an ego as he got better, but it felt like a large chunk of his origin story was missing in Revelations, because the game was too Ezio focused.

Revelations was an extremely shit game in my opinion, and an all-time low for the series. I think if people think it’s a great game, then the Assassin’s Creed series has truly plummeted in status and standards since the first and second games. The only good part about it was the final hour in which they concluded Ezio and Altair’s stories.

Otherwise, we’re talking a lot about character and we’re forgetting that Desmond is one of the worst ever :P I still feel like the developers completely underestimated his significance back in Assassin’s Creed 1 already, and focused too much on Altair, failing to give Desmond any character or personality. I think it’s Nolan North’s worst role, next to Dark Void, and since he’s extremely talented it’s quite a shame.

AG_Sonday

Altair’s story was good but they definitely missed an opportunity to delve deeper into it by sacrifcing it for Ezio’s ramblings. They actually hinted at so much that they never picked up on in Alatir’s story.

CataclysmicDawn

Yeah, the voice actor change was so obvious it was insane. They didn’t even try to find someone who sounded the same.

I would have preferred if Ezio had played the role Desmond does plus a few missions, and just been the character in a hub area while Altair was the main playable character and Ezio’s addition to the series comes to a calm and understated end instead of him chasing some redhead the whole game.

There were so many options and directions in which the game could have gone, it’s a damn shame that this is what they chose. Desmond, hopefully, will grow in 3, or else I give up hope for him.

http://egamer.co.za/ Azhar Amien

Considering that Desmond has zero personality and is the least interesting character ever, and it’s been four games with him and all we learned in Revelations is obvious stuff you pick up in dialogue in Assassin’s Creed 1 already, I highly doubt he’ll be fixed in Assassin’s Creed 3, and I think that’s the fatal part of the story.

CataclysmicDawn

Obviously we can’t assume that before the game arrives, but hopefully they focus a little more on at LEAST making him a little bit more of a human character.

http://egamer.co.za/author/cavie Caveshen “CaViE” Rajman

*bows to Gordon Freeman*

Rudolf_Venter

I’m glad we feel the same way.

Richard Dubbeld

its all in those deep pale green eyes.. all that he’s been through.

Trebzz

Great list yeah John Marston caught me big time dude he did not deserve to die and surprised Phelps badge 1247 didn’t make it another one of my favourite characters

CataclysmicDawn

His death did conclude the “redemption” as such, what an ending though.

AG_Sonday

Definitely an interesting and unexpected list as always :) I personally felt very little connection to Elleanor Lamb and if you think Max Payne 3 makes you care about the character, play the first two games. Also, I gotta agree with Azhar and Dawn, Altair was just a betetr charcater than Ezio. I liked him so much more and he just went through a greater development in my opinion.

http://egamer.co.za/ Azhar Amien

Yeah, I don’t think Max Payne 3’s Payne has anything on the guy from the first two games. It’s a butchery.

Drews123

I had a lump in my throat and cold shivers when John died… One of my most memorable moments in gaming and I have been gaming a LONG time now.

Rudolf_Venter

Agreed. :D

Toxxyc

You guys forgot the Holsom Twins. Their deaths… :(

Yashaar Mall

WHAT ABOUT HAWKE FROM DRAGON AGE 2????????????

Richard Dubbeld

you guys should try stick to one per franchise, but totally dig the list, i can’t forgive you for not putting a calibration joke in though.